Released in late September, just ahead of China’s National Day, a melodramatic film telling the story of volunteer Chinese soldiers fighting against American soldiers during the Korean War was a runaway success at the box office. "The Battle at Lake Changjin" (长津湖) triggered shows of patriotic fervor across schools and university campuses in China in October. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the film, which had a production budget of more than 200 million dollars – making it one of the priciest ever made in China – was under the principal control (主抓) of the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department, with the Beijing municipal propaganda office taking responsibility for organizing production. 

Also in October there was renewed concern over surges in Covid cases. Aside from a new surge in infections in central China traced to a tour group in Shaanxi province, information emerged about cases in the town of Ruili, which sits on Yunnan’s border with Myanmar. As discussion increased,…